Work products, including food products, are cut or otherwise portioned into smaller portions by processes in accordance with customer needs. Also, excess fat, bone and other foreign or undesirable materials are routinely trimmed from the food products. Much of the portioning/trimming of work products, in particular food products, is now carried out with the use of automated portioning machines. These machines use various scanning techniques to ascertain the size and shape of the work product as it is being advanced on a moving conveyor. This information is analyzed with the aid of a computer to determine how to portion the work product into the desired sizes, weights or other criteria being used. For example, if work product portions of a specific weight are desired, the information from the scanner may be employed to control the operation of a crosscutting device to cut the work product into the desired portion sizes. If the work product changes in width or thickness along its length, the location of the crosscut made in the work product to achieve a desired end portion weight may be controlled.
Work products may be thicker than desired for the portions to be cut from the work product. To achieve satisfactory thicknesses, a horizontal slicer may be used. Generally, the slicing operation occurs prior to the cutting process which, as noted above, is carried out by automated portioning machines. With the slicing done ahead of the portioner, the entire workpiece is sliced. If the workpiece is not of uniform thickness, at least some of the material trimmed from the workpiece may be relatively thin and, as such, of low economic value.